The invention relates to a water treatment apparatus that is particularly desirable for removing contaminants in drinking water. The invention comprises an improvement on the commercially successfully water treatment apparatus as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,769,144 (the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein).
The water treatment apparatus described in the above-mentioned patent is very useful in removing contaminants from normal tap water. However one difficulty associated therewith is the necessity to remove the filter media at predetermined intervals in order to be sure that the water is being effectively treated. Also, it is typically restricted to the use of a single water treatment media associated therewith of a predetermined volume determined by the volume of the cartridge of the unit.
According to the present invention, various modifications of the successful product as described in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,769,144 are provided. According to the invention, an indicator means is provided associated with the unit that allows the user to keep track of how many times the bottle has been filled so that he/she will know when it is time to change the filter cartridge. Also, according to the invention an adaptor is provided for connecting the internal tube of the water treatment apparatus to the filter cartridge. The adaptor can have another --or additional--filter media associated therewith so that depending upon the particular water conditions at any given point in time in the user's area, he/she may decide to utilize additional or an additional type of water treatment media.
According to one aspect of the present invention water treatment apparatus for attachment to a bottle with an opening at a neck portion thereof is provided. The water treatment apparatus comprises the following elements: An elongated tube having first and second ends. Cartridge means containing water treatment media operatively connected to the tube second end. Cap means for capping the first end of the tube, and for cooperating with the bottle neck to position the apparatus in the bottle, the cap means comprising a body and a top; the body having means defining fluid passageways therein adjacent, but radially spaced from, the tube first end to allow flow of liquid therethrough; and the top movable with respect to the body to selectively cover or uncover the fluid passageways. Detent means associated with the cap body and the cap top for providing detented rotation of the cap top with respect to the cap body. And, indicia means associated with the cap top and the cap body for indicating each detented position of the top with respect to the body.
In one embodiment of the device set forth above, the cap top comprises a top plate and an elongated shaft extending concentrically from the plate, and the detent means comprises a plurality of nubs spaced circumferentially around the middle portion of the shaft, and means defining grooved passageways in the body, radially inwardly from the fluid passageways, having grooves cooperating with the shaft nubs. The grooves are elongated along the direction of elongation of the shaft so that the shaft may slide along its direction of elongation with respect to the body.
According to a second embodiment of the device described above, the cap top comprises a top plate, and the body includes a stationary element and a shaft which is reciprocal with respect to the stationary element but restrained against rotational movement with respect to the stationary element. The detent means acts between the top plate and the shaft. The indicia comprises numbers on the top plate and an indicator mark (e.g. arrow) on a top portion of the shaft which is visible when viewing the top plate.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a water treatment apparatus is provided which comprises: An elongated tube having first and second ends. Cartridge means containing water treatment media operatively connected to the tube second end. Cap means for capping the first end of the tube, and for cooperating with the bottle neck to position the apparatus in the bottle, the cap means comprising a body and a top; the body having means defining fluid passageways therein adjacent, but radially spaced from, the tube first end to allow flow of liquid therethrough; and the top movable with respect to the body to selectively cover or uncover the fluid passageways. And, adaptor means for connecting the second end of the tube to the cartridge means, the adaptor means also containing water treatment media. The adaptor means preferably comprises a tubular section having a first end with an interior cross-sectional area approximately equal to the exterior cross-sectional area of the elongated tube second end, and a second end having an exterior cross-sectional area approximately equal to the interior cross-sectional area of the cartridge means. The adaptor first and second ends each have an interference fit with the second end of the elongated tube, and the cartridge means, respectively. The adaptor preferably includes screen means disposed therein for retaining water treatment media within it.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of treating tap water utilizing a bottle and a water treatment apparatus disposed in operative association with the bottle neck. The water treatment apparatus includes a replaceable cartridge with water treatment media. The method comprises the steps of: (a) Filling the bottle with tap water which flows through the cartridge to be treated. (b) When practicing step (a), rotating the cap top with respect to the cap body so that the cooperating indica thereon advance one unit. (c) Emptying the bottle with treated water during normal use. And (d), repeating steps (a)-(c) until a certain indicia is indicated, and when that indicia is indicated, replacing the cartridge, and turning the cap top so that the indicia is back at its first position.
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide for the simple and effective treatment of tap water or the like. This and other objects of the invention will become clear from an inspection of the detailed description of the invention, and from the appended claims.